A Study on The Level of Attitude of The Ph.D Research Scholars of Dibrugarh University Towards Using Web-Based Information Resources

: Currently, the Web 2.0 is reining the century. Because the web 2.0 is more than just reading and allows people to create, share and access at the same time . The significance of the web-based information resources could be felt at every sphere of our lives be it personal, professional or academics. These days the web –based information resources are working as a supplement for the students, teachers and scholars as it provides millions of information when needed at one go .This study prioritize on the PhD research scholars of Dibrugarh University to find out their level of attitude towards using web-based information resources. For which the scale to measure the level of attitude towards using web-based information resources was used. The study indicated that the PhD research scholars have a favorable attitude towards using web-based information resources.


Utility of web-based information resources in education during covid -19
During the period of 2020 to 2021 the educational dimension had reached a different level, the web based information resources played a major role. The challenging phase has bound all the students and academicians to double up the usage of the internet and the web based information resource to cope up the situation. The web-based information resources helped the school students to aid the academics, fill the void of a teacher or tutor. The candidates through ODL and MOOC could continue their courses. The competitive examinees could also continue their studies even during lockdown and remained motivated. The research scholars were able to quench the need of data from the secondary sources, the web-based information resources helped the research scholars remain abreast of the latest findings in the research ecosystem during that period.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRESENT STUDY
The 21 st century researchers are more active, updated and technologically sound which is why they need an environment that can avail the required resources to cater their needs for brilliant research works to conduct. It is of utmost necessity to know the researchers needs, thoughts, ideas for providing them a better research environment. Thus, in order to read their minds, the present study was conducted to find out how convenient and helpful this web-based information resources are for the Ph.D Research Scholars of Dibrugarh University , to keep update of the emerging problems and find the needs of the society and to connect with the nook and corners across the globe, being situated away from the mainstream India.
The period of Covid-19 pandemic was of great challenge itself for the researchers to conduct the research works in due time for the fact that they could not visit the field for data collection or could not visit library physically. So, they had to draw maximum benefits out from the web based resources and online library facility. To know the minds of the Dibrugarh University research scholars after the pandemic, the attitude test towards the web-based information resources will help to know and how much these web-based information resources compensated their need in the Covid-19 situation and filled the void.
Thus ,also the present study will be of great help for the administrators and the research guides and other academicians to find out the best way out for the research scholars of the university to access webbased information resources and assist them throughout the course to draw maximum benefit out from the web-based information resources for their research work and make a convenient digital learning environment.

OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT STUDY:
3.1.To study the level of attitude of the Ph.D Research Scholars of Dibrugarh University towards using Web -Based Information resources.

DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:
Considering the constraint of time the study was limited to following aspects

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE: 5.1 Studies conducted in india:
Vasappa & Shivalingaiah (2007) conducted a research entitled " E -resources of Information: A study of attitudes of Research scholar". The findings are that the majority of the Research scholars prefer printed forms of information. Science research scholars depend more on electronic resources compared to humanities and social science. Majority of the science scholars have needed electronic resources for their research and due to it they have improved the quality of research. In all the discipline, the research scholars expressed that they need training program for the proper utilization of the resources , facilities and services.

Studies conducted abroad:
Serder,C.et al.(2010) conducted a research "Attitude of Distance Education students towards Web Based learning -A case study" to assess the attitude towards web based learning and assess if the attitude towards web based learning differ according to the gender, age, grade level and the program they attend. It is found that attitude did not change according to the age level but changed according to the grade level and there are statistically differences between attitude level scores of students from five different programs. Dogruer,N.et al.(2011) conducted a study "The use of the internet for educational purposes" and the findings were that the majority of the students believed they can use the Internet as an educational tool. They stated that they used social websites to share knowledge and talk about school subjects. They also claimed that they could easily use the Internet to find sources of information, download necessary files and pictures and so on. Moreover, the participants stated that they used e-dictionaries, eencyclopedias and translation tools to help them write their homework and do their projects.

IJFMR23034174
Volume 5, Issue 3, May-June 2023 5 Duersen,A,J,V.(2020) in the study "Digital Inequality During a Pandemic: Quantitative Study of Differences in COVID-19-Related Internet Uses and Outcomes Among the General Population" found that Several groups of people were identified as vulnerable, such as older people and people with lower levels of education, physical health problems, higher levels of neuroticism, low literacy levels, and low levels of trust. The general conclusion is that people who are already relatively advantaged are more likely to use the information and communication opportunities provided by the internet to their benefit in a health pandemic, while more disadvantaged individuals are less likely to benefit. Affum,M,Q.(2022) in his study "The effect of internet on students studies: a review" found that the internet is very useful in the learning outcomes of students, however there are several negative impacts that can cause students to decline in their learning outcomes and therefore they have to set time boundaries for themselves when using the internet and authorities should assist students to overcome some of the challenges faced by students in learning electronically with the internet.

METHODOLOGY: 6.1 Method of the study:
Descriptive survey method was used in the present study.

Population:
The population for the present study comprised of all the Ph.D research scholars pursuing Ph.D program in the 17 Departments and 7 Centers of Studies of Dibrugarh University in the academic sessions 2019-2020,2020-2021,2021-2022 . The Table 1 shows the detail of the population of the study- The sample of the present study comprised of all the Ph.D research scholars who were present in the 17 Departments and 7 Centers of Studies of Dibrugarh University at the time of collection of data. Thus, a sample of 132 Ph.D research scholars were selected using Incidental sampling technique.

Sampling technique:
The sampling technique used in the present study was Incidental sampling technique to select Ph.D research scholars from 17 Departments and 7 Centers of Studies of Dibrugarh University.

Tool used in the study:
In the present study, Attitude towards using Web -Based Information Resources Scale developed by Mumtaj and Dr. P.M Naushad Ali (2018) was used.

Description of the scale-
The Attitude towards using web-Based Information resources scale was developed by Mumtaj and Dr. P.M Naushad Ali (2018) to measure attitude towards using web resources in higher educational institutes. The scale covers the dimensions viz. Acceptance of web resources, Perceived advantages, User's satisfaction, Impact of web-based resources on academics and Obstacles during usage of webbased resources. The scale consists of 39 items in total out of which 32 are positive (favorable) and 7 are negative (unfavorable) items.

Scoring procedure-
The scale consists of 32 positive items means favorable worded and remaining 7 negative items means unfavorable worded and the response is on the 5 point Likert type scale which are Strongly Agree, Agree, Not Sure, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. The table below shows the scoring of the scale.

Reliability -
The reliability was obtained by Mumtaj and Dr.P.M Naushad Ali of Aligarh Muslim University calculating AlphaCranach's between domain and total values. It was found to be .81 as shown in the given table 3 which is very high which denotes that the scale is highly reliable.

Validity-
Face and content validity of the scale were tested by Mumtaj and P.M.Naushad Ali of Aligarh Muslim University. They gave the scale to 12 experts to evaluate the items, only those items with 75% agreement were retained but in order to formulate definite validity items were selected having the 't'value equal or more than 1.75.

Norms-
An individual's score on the scale is the sum of the score of 39 items. The score ranges from 30 to 195. The minimum score that one can get is 39 and the maximum score that one can score is 195. The norms of the scale is mentioned below.

Statistical techniques used:
In the present study, Mean ,Median, Mode , Skewness and Kurtosis were used to study the level of attitude of the Ph.D research scholars of Dibrugarh University towards using of Web-Based Information resources.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
The analysis and interpretation of data has been discussed under the following heading-

LEVEL OF ATTITUDE OF THE PH.D RESEARCH SCHOLARS OF DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY TOWARDS USING WEB -BASED INFORMATION RESOURCES:
To study the level of the attitude of the Ph.D research scholars of Dibrugarh University towards using web-based information resources, a standard classification based on the norms as specified in the Manual of the "Attitude Towards using Web-Based Information Resources Scale" developed by Mumtaj and P.M Naushad Ali is presented below in the Table No.5  IJFMR23034174 Volume 5, Issue 3, May-June 2023 8 For better understanding the graphical representation of the level of attitude of the Ph.D Research Scholars of Dibrugarh University towards Using Web-Based Information Resources is presented below-  The computed value of mean, median and mode mentioned in the table above is 147.98 , 148.00 and 154 respectively which shows that the average score obtained by the Ph.D scholars is 147.98 , the middle value is 148 of the total data and most frequently scored number is 154. The computed standard deviation is 11.16.
The computed value of skewness -.080 indicates that the distribution of the scores in the attitude scale is skewed negatively or towards left as scores are massed at the high end of the scale. The kurtosis value is .303 which indicates that the distribution of the attitude score is platykurtic. 8.0

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 8.1 LEVEL OF ATTITUDE OF THE PH.D RESEARCH SCHOLARS OF DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY TOWARDS USING WEB-BASED INFORMATION RESOURCES:
The study revealed that, 0 no. of student fall in Highly favorable and Favorable category , 1 no. of student fall in neutral category, 105 nos. of students fall under Favorable category and 26 nos. of students fall in Highly Favorable category. The computed value of mean, median and mode is 147.98 , 148.00 and 154 respectively which shows that the average score obtained by the PhD scholars is 147.98 , the middle value is 148 of the total data and most frequently scored number is 154. The computed standard deviation is 11.16.
The computed value of skewness -.080 indicates that the distribution of the scores in the attitude scale is skewed negatively or towards left as scores are massed at the high end of the scale.
The kurtosis value is .303 which indicates that the distribution of the attitude score is platykurtic.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS:
• This study provides a clear picture to the academicians and the administrators regarding the attitude of the Ph.D Research Scholars towards using Web-Based Information resources to take initiatives accordingly. • This study may also help the concerned authority to take steps to improve the existing internet facility, Web OPAC facility in order to make the researchers more motivated to work in a fast pace and make optimum use of web resources.

CONCLUSION:
Web -based information resources are a pivotal part of a researcher's life. Every Ph.D Research Scholar is found incorporating online resources and relying on web-based information for their research work. From this study, it is revealed that the Ph.D Research Scholars are having a favorable attitude towards using Web-Based Information resources.